A Quiet Tribal Upsurge In Banswara

The emergence of the Bhartiya Tribal Party (

BTP

) has changed the political equations in the

Lok Sabha

constituency of

Banswara

, offering a tantalizing triangular contest.


Promising a tribal state, BTP won on two of the eight assembly constituencies of the

LS seat

in the recently held state elections. It has rung warning bells for both BJP and Congress. The tribal party has fielded 43-year-old unemployed Kantilal Roat, who claims to represent the tribal populace of the constituency.

The tribal areas of Banswara-Dungarpur have conventionally been a stronghold of Congress. Out of the 16 Lok Sabha elections, Congress had won 12 times. BJP managed to win only twice — in 2004 and 2014.

Congress has fielded three-time MP Tarachand Bhagora, a down-to-earth politician with a clean image, who is averse to dynasty politics. His sons did not follow in his footsteps. Bhagora is soft-spoken and maintains a respect for the active local RSS unit which has also helped his popularity.

BJP’s incumbent MP Manshankar Ninama — who was dropped by the saffron party to field former Rajya Sabha MP Kanak Mal Katara — largely remained an unknown figure. Katara, with his RSS background, is a known figure even though he does not have the same image as Bhagora. BJP is banking on RSS support in the constituency. However, it faces a major challenge as Katara’s daughter-in-law Anita Katara, a BJP rebel herself, is campaigning against him.

The long-pending Dungarpur-Banswara-Ratlam rail line project, lack of road network in the interiors and shortage of water supply from Mahi dam are a few of the issues that the locals have been demanding to be solved for decades now. Reverse migration of labourers from Gujarat and Maharashtra following demonetisation and implementation of GST has become one of the major problems in the area. This along with already high unemployment and limited work under NREGA, has added to anti-incumbency sentiment against BJP.

Despite the fact that the two districts form the Lok Sabha seat together and that both are part of the tribal areas, there are lot of differences which have stopped them from becoming one unit. Also the fact that all the three main candidates belong to Dungarpur has irked the Banswara voters who are in the majority.